Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Brunch Bets: The Farm on Adderley

Waking up late last weekend, still hungover and tired from the night before, I felt like grabbing something tasty, cheap and relatively close. While Noah was likely stuffing his face at David's Brisket House, I was feeling a hot cup of coffee, breakfast meats and runny yolks. Meeting all of the aforementioned criteria, The Farm on Adderley seemed like the perfect destination. Located only a few minutes away in Ditmas Park, The Farm on Adderley turns out a damn good brunch at reasonable prices, making me question why people bother crossing the bridge for this weekend ritual.

But there's more to this story than simply how I spent my Sunday afternoon. It's about the food, and more importantly, the restaurant responsible for said food. Although Brooklyn may not seem like a bountiful oasis of farm land where restaurants grow or source the freshest ingredients from local purveyers, it's a movement sweeping across Brooklyn, with some restaurants such as Roberta's even installing rooftop greenhouses. While The Farm on Adderley isn't an actual farm - at least that I know - it's another example of a Brooklyn restaurant dedicating itself to sourcing from local farmers, thereby creating "thoughtfully" produced food. Led by Chef Tom Kearney, you can read where the restaurant sources all its product here.

Always busy, especially for brunch, MW and I waited a few minutes before we were led to our table precariously close to a neighboring couple. MW ordered a tea while I satisfied my caffeine fix with a cup of coffee. As is our custom whenever we dine here, we start off with the Chocolate Brioche with Sea Salt and Butter. Instead of a piece of chocolate brioche, which its name implies, we were initially surprised when we received a piece of brioche studded with chocolate chips. But even in light of this discrepancy, it doesn't take away from the fact that this is an absolutely great start to any brunch. Sliced thick and filled with pockets of gooey chocolate (think the chocolate chip cookies from Levain Bakery), the brioche is first toasted, then slathered with butter and finished with a sprinkle of sea salt, which accentuates its sweetness without becoming overwhelming. Despite the fact that MW and I much prefer savory breakfast items, we never fail to order this.

MW ordered the Sausage and Eggs, which included a Homemade Breakfast Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, Homefries and a Salad. We found there to be more hits than misses on this hearty plate of food. The eggs were cooked perfectly, scrambled soft, and remained creamy. The real disappointment of the dish was the homemade breakfast sausage which was underseasoned. In other words, a polite way of saying it was bland. The homefries were par for the course, but the salad provided a pleasant dose of acidity to balance the plate.

I ordered the Ham and Cheese Croque that features House-Cured Ham and Melted Gruyère served Open Face (I added a Sunnyside Egg) with a Salad. Together, it was excellent. Served on a thick piece of French bread, the croque contained a layer of salty ham, nutty gruyère and was topped with a delicate egg. The bread was perfectly grilled (a result of copious amounts of butter), with its edges coated with bits of caramelized gruyère and mixed flawlessly with the cured ham and rich yolk. As with MW's dish, the salad played the perfect supporting role with its acidity keeping the palate fresh in spite of all the butter.

We also decided to "splurge" on the French Fries, which were served with a Curry Mayonnaise. I say splurge, because the side of fries were almost as expensive as our brunch selections. However, upon further inspection it seemed as though the price was more indicative of the quantity rather than the quality as the fries were quite thick (reminiscent of a proper "chip") but not nearly as crisp as I had hoped for. The curry mayonnaise was a bit lackluster, as the curry flavor in the mayonnaise was quite faint and left me wanting more oomph.

Opening their doors in 2006, owners Gary Jonas and Allison McDowell set out to create a neighborhood restaurant that served good food while staying conscious to where their ingredients came from and how they're produced. So after several satisfying brunches, The Farm on Adderley has been successful serving food that, in addition making you feel good, is also good for you.